Shining like a national guitar

EDIT: This is from, like, last month, okay? I do love all of you, I just have been busy lately, so I haven't had time to update. But I will! Very soon!

Hey hey hey!!! I'm back, as in back in Illinois, land of green fields, late night shenanigans, and catching fireflies in the backyard. I got back a week ago yesterday, and have accomplished not that much, although I got some important things done. I got a haircut! I've also discovered the magic that is playing Wii fit, and how satisfying it is to hula hoop for 6 minutes. I'm leaving in 3 days to go up to Seattle to see my fantastic boyfriend, who I miss very, very much. I'm actually doing an all-night travel extravaganza to get there...a 2:30am LEX bus to Chicago, then a 7:30am flight, arriving in Seattle at 9:40am. I'm so excited! For serious. And I get to help him pick out a new car, maybe! And go to Ikea!!

So, all that is exciting, but I do miss London, and my life there. I really really miss it, actually. I loved living at Waterloo, being able to just hop on the train whenever or just walk to wherever I wanted, everything being within reasonable walking distance. I miss ice cream from ice cream trucks. I miss parks, English-style. I even miss the weather, because having so many days of typical rainy 'English weather' just made it all the more special when the other kind of English weather, sunny and beautiful, came along. It was an amazing experience, and despite the huge price, it was so worth it. I've decided to make a list of things that I learned/gained/appreciated....because I'm cool like that. So!

1) I learned how to get over it and just buy a 6 dollar sandwich every now and then.
2) The importance of ALWAYS getting an ice cream, ALWAYS with a flake added.
3) How nice it is to find a restaurant and make it your regular place.
4) Dressing up, going to dinner, having wine.
5) Student nights at clubs, with crazy pregaming beforehand.
6) The value of deciding to walk home from a club instead of taking the bus.
7) That I can stay up for several days, surviving on redbull and very little sleep, and still turn in a decent paper.
8) How to share everything.
9) How to pack whatever I need for 40 days into a 50 liter backpack.
10) That I may not want what I always thought I wanted in life.
11) That I cannot drink as much as I used to.
12) How to navigate around a completely new city and find cheap food/transportation/lodging/alcohol in the first few hours I'm there.

Right, that's all for now, but more to come later, I promise!

Panic in the streets!!!

Guess what! I'm back! Just like I said I'd be back. Except, well, several months late? Oh well. These things happen, I'm sure you understand. I actually can't write much right now, as I am (in typical fashion) madly trying to finish a last-minute paper by a reasonable hour tonight (I'm in the mid-700 word range, trying to get it to 2,000 and make some semblance of sense....). But! Never fear, here is the briefest of updates on my life:
-I went traveling and Saw The World! Conquered: France, Italy, Greece, Egypt (again), Jordan, Syria, Israel, Egypt (again!?).
-I came back to London, loitered around, my momma visited!
-I had some finals! They were ok.
-I went to Dublin! It was pretty great.

And now my time in London is almost up...in a few days I am heading to Spain and Portugal with my gentleman lover, and then London for a week or so before making my way back to the US. Oh, also? I have recently been on a musical kick, seeing 2 absolutely ridiculously awesome musicals in the West End! And more on the way! We're seeing the Lion King tomorrow! I am so excited. Now hopefully I can just work some magic and pull together a semi-decent paper, so I can go off and have fun with my fantastic boyfriend! (He even cooks sometimes!!!)

Speaking of....